Safer cables add value to buildings

If we rate a building for energy consumption, noise protection and health - why not for safety?
Does safety improve the value of a building? Does a safer design of building improve the value of a designers’ work?
Safety, as protection of human health, animal health and goods, may lead to a direct economic saving as well as having a strong emotive impact.  Fires are a real threat in constructions, Safety in case of fire is one of the six essential requirements defined by the European Parliament that designers have to comply with.

Fire - A global concern
Fires have a high cost in loss of human life. About a third of fires originate inside buildings. In Europe the median fire death rate per 100,000 inhabitants(1) was near 1 in 2003 and 2004, equivalent to 30,000 deaths per year. The UK Department for Communities and Local Government states that: 
            " the most commonly identified cause of death from a fire incident is being overcome
              by gas or smoke" (2)

which accounts for 44% of all deaths. Another influential source, the Swedish SRSA (Swedish Rescue Services Agency) in a report on Fire Prevention states that: "In 1950 the average time from ignition of a fire to flashover was 15 minutes. Then, 25 years ago, that time was down to 5 minutes and now fatal conditions can occur after 3 minutes. This change has come about because of the increase of plastics in our homes, nothing else." (3)

Fires have also a significant impact on our economy. In a recent report, CTIF (International Association of Fire and Rescue Service) estimates that: 
             " the total economic costs of fires amount to around 1% of gross domestic product  in most advanced countries" (4)

Fire Safety
Fire safety is a component of building safety. It concerns safety measures to prevent fires or limit their effects. The safety measures can aim to detect or suppress fires (e.g. fire alarm systems, sprinklers) or contain and slow the spread of fires (e.g. flame spread, heat release, flaming droplets, smoke and gas emission). Cables play an important part in either measure. Their performance is defined Resistance to Fire  and Reaction to Fire

Prysmian's commitment to safety

Our Mission is to supply our Customers with the most appropriate, innovative and technologically advanced cables for each application. Where safety is concerned and a reliable and competitive solution is needed, Prysmian is able to fully support the safer solution without being limited through technology or materials. Prysmian also wishes to communicate with end-users, opinion leaders and electrical professionals about the great importance of fire safety of cables for people and animals, and the importance of choosing safer cabling  when designing and constructing buildings. 

The fire performance of cables is critical in fire safety engineering of many buildings but many end-users lack such awareness. In the lack of national regulations, the decision to adopt safer cables is primarily as a consequence of the correct information being provided to decision makers.

The Prysmian Group has for many years been committed to designing and producing competitive Fire Resistant and Low Fire-Hazard cables, and continues to widen its product range in order to offer its customers safer cables to protect both lives and buildings. Prysmian's Fire Resistant and Afumex (Low Fire-Hazard) cables have been adopted for many major projects throughout the world including the Burj Dubai tower, the tallest man-made structure in the world and the new Formula 1 Grand Prix circuit in Singapore.

Prysmian’s social responsibility also extends to protection of the environment, with Afumex cables representing an improvement from an eco-friendly point of view, due to reduced emissions of smoke and harmful effluent under fire conditions.  Furthermore Afumex cables, at the end of their lives, can be disposed of through simpler, cheaper and cleaner treatments compared to standard cables.